Many systems and processes utilize the flow of a working fluid, such as air for example, to deliver material from one location to another. In such systems and processes, the working fluid and the material to be delivered may be mixed together relatively uniformly. Uniform dispersal of the material to be delivered in the working fluid may be disadvantageous however. For example, relatively uniform dispersal of fuel droplets in the intake air of an internal combustion engine ignition and combustion system may not produce optimum combustion of the fuel in terms of percentage of fuel ignited, fuel consumption, flame propagation, and combustion timing, among other metrics. The fuel dispersed in the outer edges of the air intake flow may be under utilized for combustion, in particular.
Uniform dispersal of a material to be delivered in a working fluid may also be suboptimal for other reasons. For example, the working fluid nearest to the walls of a passage through which it is traveling encounter frictional forces at the boundary between the flow and the wall. This friction results in drag on the flow, creates heat and turbulence, and may result in deposits of material along the wall.
The efficient and controlled delivery of material in such systems and processes may be improved by using a stratified stream of working fluid that includes at least two distinct flow layers or regions. A stratified stream may include an inner flow stream of working fluid that contains a relatively heavier concentration of the material to be delivered, and an outer flow stream of working fluid that contains a lower concentration of the material to be delivered. The outer stream of working fluid may act as a low friction boundary disposed between the inner flow stream and the wall of the passage through which the working fluid travels. The flow lines of the outer stream and the inner stream may be different in keeping with the different purposes of each. The outer stream may tend to flow in a toroidal and/or helical motion to serve as a boundary in a circular cross-section passage, while the inner stream may tend to have a more laminar flow in line with the longitudinal axis of a circular cross-section passage.
A stratified system may provide improved flow of a working fluid for applications such as, but not limited to, internal combustion engines, culinary preparation, painting/coating, 3D printing, additive manufacturing, burners, torches, aerators, stoves, grills, ovens, fireplaces, heating systems, rocket stoves, rocket mass stoves, masonry ovens, masonry fireplaces, audio speakers, welding and cutting applications, thruster and hull friction reduction, and other consumer/industrial/commercial/scientific products.
With regard to internal combustion engines, for example, embodiments of the present invention may provide improved lean fuel ratio ignition and combustion. In this regard, embodiments of the present invention may provide an improvement over the Turbulent Jet Ignition Pre-Chamber Combustion System for Spark Ignition Engines invented by William Attard and produced by Mahle Motorsports. Like improvements over the designs for delivery of materials using a working fluid may be realized for all of the above noted applications, as well as for others known and yet to be developed.